Jimmy Carter served as the 39th president of the United States from Jan. 20, 1977, to Jan. 20, 1981. Foreign policy accomplishments during his administration include the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

On the domestic side, his administration’s achievements include a comprehensive energy program conducted by the new Department of Energy; major educational programs under the new Department of Education; and important environmental protection legislation.

Each day during his presidency, he made several entries in a private diary, recording his thoughts, impressions, delights, and frustrations. He offered unvarnished assessments of cabinet members, members of Congress, and foreign leaders, and narrated the progress of secret negotiations. Tonight, President Carter reflects on his entries to this diary. White House Diary is available for signing after the program

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.

David Sedaris is the author of Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, each of which became a bestseller.

His newest book, a collection of fables entitled Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk (with illustrations by Ian Falconer), will be published September 2010.  David Sedaris’s original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life.

Questions of good and evil, right and wrong are commonly thought unanswerable by science. But in his new book The Moral Landscape , Harris argues that science can -- and should -- be an authority on moral issues, shaping human values and setting out what constitutes a good life.

An outspoken proponent of skepticism and science, his two books -- The End of Faith and its follow-up Letter to a Christian Nation -- have become New York Times bestsellers. Harris received a degree in philosophy from Stanford and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. Mr. Harris' writing has been published in over ten languages. He and his work have been discussed in Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. 

"Read Sam Harris and wake up." --Richard Dawkins

To receive priority seating, discounted admission, and a discount off the list price of  The Moral Landscape  become a Friend of the Center

• Friends of the Center Registration: $5
• Friends of the Center Registration incl. The Moral Landscape book: $23
• Public Registration: $10
• Public Registration incl. The Moral Landscape book: $30

All proceeds benefit the Center for Inquiry DC. All books purchased online will be available at will call.

"The original MST3K gang doing what they do best - verbally ripping apart films that never should have been made in the first place" - Time Out Chicago

"Consistently and unfailingly funny" - The Washington Post

Continuing the tradition of riffing on the unfathomable, the horribly great, and the just plain cheesy movies from the past, Cinematic Titanic Live brings the original creator and cast of the Peabody award winning cult-classic television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) to a live theatrical setting.

The cast will riff on the 1968 Japanese sci-fi thriller War of the Insects (aka Genocide, aka Konchu Daisenso). In this rarely seen and poorly dubbed film, a plane carrying an atomic bomb is attacked by a new strain of killer bees - the project of a crazed scientist seeking world domination.

Created by Joel Hodgson and featuring the same team that first brought MST3K to life: Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff, and Mary Jo Pehl.

Note: Content is comparable to the PG-13 category of MPAA ratings

Read more on Cinematic Titanic from The Washington Post

Francesco Cilea's thrilling masterpiece is a story of love, betrayal, jealousy, even poisoned violets! It's the stuff of operas with some of the most gorgeous opera music ever written and it showcases the myriad talents of two of our WCO audience favorites and the debut of a newcomer destined to achieve imminent stardom.

Featuring tenor James Valenti (Maurizio), Mary Elizabeth Williams (Adriana), Mezzo soprano Elizabeth Bishop (Princess de Bouillon), and baritone Donnie Ray Albert (Michonnet.)

"The queen of Caribbean vocalists" - Los Angeles Times

With a career spanning over 60 years, Cuban songstress Omara Portuondo returns to DC for the first time in almost 10 years. After rising to fame and concocting her first tunes with the Las D'Aida quartet, Portuondo became one of the most highly esteemed solo singers of her country during the 1970s and the 1980s. However, it wasn't until the Buena Vista Social Club project saw the light of day that she was able to achieve justifiable widespread fame along with other major figures of popular music from her country including Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González and Compay Segundo.

Her latest album Gracias was recorded in Havana with contributions from such names as Avishai Cohen, Trilok Gurtu, Chico Buarque and Chucho Valdés, and includes the songs Omara has always longed to sing.

"The Post-Classical Ensemble may be the most thought-provoking music group in town .... Their performances can be demanding - but they're invariably beautiful, and never dull."
- The Washington Post

American composer Lou Harrison's music is original and sometimes exotic but never esoteric, forbidding, or severe. Drawing on an array of non-Western and pre-Baroque influences, it confounds conventional "classical music" expectations. It asks that we listen with open ears and an open mind. No special preparation is required-just a willingness to "switch channels."

The evening includes the D.C. premiere of the Harrison Piano Concerto and features pianists Benjamin Pasternack and Lisa Moore, the Wesleyan University Gamelan, the George Washington University Chorus, and film clips from Eva Soltes’ documentary Lou Harrison: A World of Music.

The program will include (subject to change):

Javanese Gamelan music
Harrison: Concerto for piano and Javanese Gamelan
Harrison: Strict Songs for chorus and orchestra
Harrison: Piano Concerto

For more than forty years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural and ethnic landscape. Their musical efforts over the past four decades have garnered praise and accolades within the recording industry, but also solidified their identity as a cultural force to be reckoned with.

"It isn't merely the grace and power of their dancing or the beauty of their singing that rivets the attention, but the sheer joy and love that emanates from their being." - Paul Simon 

French vocalist Jil Aigrot masterfully breathes new life into the cherished classics of her native country in a new program, including the songs of Édith Piaf,  Jacques Brel, and Charles Aznavour. Her interpretations of the work of Edith Piaf as the singing voice in the acclaimed movie La Vie En Rose and on the concert stage have resulted in worldwide acclaim.

"Marion Cotillard won an Oscar for her remarkable portrayal of French chanteuse Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. But there's another amazing Piaf performance in the movie, and it's delivered by someone you never see: French vocalist Jil Aigrot"- Newsweek

Ira Glass will talk about what he and his staff learned about making This American Life for television over two years, and why they stopped. Beautiful, moving, and funny stories on the big screen.

Ira Glass is the host and producer of the public radio program This American Life, which is heard on more than 500 public radio stations each week by over 1.8 million listeners.

In 2001, Time magazine named Glass "Best Radio Host in America." In March 2007, the television adaptation of This American Life premiered on Showtime to great critical acclaim, winning 3 Emmy Awards.

The richness of the African guitar tradition is the focus of this Acoustic Africa tour. Featuring: Habib Koité, the Malian superstar whose exciting concerts have endeared him to audiences worldwide, Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi, the best-selling artist in his home country of Zimbabwe, and Afel Bocoum, a guitarist, singer, and composer from Mali whose songs evoke the evolution of traditional Malian society.

One of Africa’s most exciting performers, Habib Koite plays music that reflects the diverse musical traditions of his Malian homeland. Accompanied by his band Bamada, Koite has released a number of successful and critically acclaimed albums and has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and in major magazines such as People and Rolling Stone.

Lovingly called “Tuku”, Oliver Mtukudzi began recording in the mid-1970s as a member of Wagon Wheels, a band that also featured Thomas Mapfumo. After Wagon Wheels rolled to fame in Southern Africa, Tuku formed Black Spirits, the band that has backed him throughout his career. Mtukudzi has been heavily influenced by chimurenga, the genre pioneered by Mapfumo that is inspired by the hypnotic rhythms of the mbira (thumb piano). His music also incorporates pop influences, South Africa mbaqanga, the energetic Zimbabwean pop style JIT, and the traditional kateke drumming of his clan, the Korekore. 

Afel Bocoum began his music career with his uncle Ali Farka Toure in the group Asco, a collaboration which lasted some thirty years. In the 1980s, he founded his own group named Alkibar, in which he plays the guitar, sings, and composes. Bocoum sings mainly in Sonrai, his mother tongue, but also in Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg, and in Bambara. In spite of his growing success, Bocoum remains gentle and unassuming, modestly directing the energy this recognition brings him towards the welfare of his people and the inspiration they give to his music.